Well, there are two basic levels really. On the surface, and just as
one reviewer ONLY saw, it’s about sexual liberation or the reverse of
that. If you only see that level then fair enough, I suppose some of the
imagery can be distracting (try directing it!). The actual meaning of the
film is really about the prisons we create for ourselves. We think we
have found freedom, when in fact we actually a lot of the time create new
traps. There have been numerous examples of this throughout history where
certain groups have set up away from society and very quickly created a
whole new society no better than the one they left behind. All of them
crumbled. I took those historical ideas and placed them in a dirty modern
environment, with a few extra bits.

Without having an actual name at hand to back my claim, I have the
feeling that House of
Sin's central character the Mage is based on an (or several)
actual person(s). Is there any truth to that?

Absolutely. He is an amalgamation of several folk from history. Cagliostro,
Eliphas Levi, Aleister Crowley, Rasputin and a few others. These folk
supposedly set people free, revealed the hidden etc. Often followers were
simply falling into a delusion of the leaders making, or their own.

Your film digs deep into topics like
(sexual) dominance and submission as well as the philosophy behind it.
Your personal take on all of this?

Personally I have no
idea what folk see in being hurt, all I want to do is strike back. But I
do understand the reasoning behind it, the closeness of pain to pleasure,
of being dominated when all you do all day long is order people around.
But no, not for me! I simply wanted to use the device to show a metaphor
for society at large.

You could say a very long time, because it
comes from the years of research into the mind of man, the legends,
folklore, myths, cults and potty individuals that often lead people
astray. Or you could say I sat down one afternoon with a pencil and
nothing to do and started writing.

A few words about the actor who plays the Mage, John Symes?

John Symes

John is an amazing method actor. He just played the lead in Paranormal
Haunting and scared the living daylights out of everybody, walking around
in character of an evil Satanic madman. He never stops working, he is a
true professional and he deserves an Oscar for what he just did in Paranormal
Haunting. Such a diverse man, talented in so many areas. I
simply cannot see me doing anything without him in future.

Sarah Dunn

In many ways, Sarah Dunn seems to work perfectly as slavegirl. What
can you tell us about her?

Sarah is a top actress. She can shed tears on command, she can sing
like an angel, she is just beautiful and she does exactly as she’s told
– apart from put her top on.

Nik Spencer

And then there is your frequent collaborator Nik Spencer as the
sidekick (and narrator of the film). Is there anything left to say about
him you haven't already told us [click
here]?

Always a true pro, what can you say about Nik that I haven’t already?
Nik became the second Mage in this film or was it the other way around?
The lines blur when they’re so good.

Out of the cast of characters populating the House
of Sin, who do you identify with the most, personally, the Mage,
the slave, the sidekick ... or the transvestite ... or even the girl who
assists in suicides?

The Director.

Your film goes fairly far in the
depiction of sexual activities and the like. Was there ever a line you (or
your cast) refused to cross?

I simply do not like showing
any "below" bits or actual acts of sex to be honest, I’d
rather imply them. So what you do see, is not a lot more than you’d see
on a beach, it’s just the context that shocks and the abstract nature
and angles.